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By Jill Nezworski DVM
In the 23 years I have been a practicing poultryveterinarian, I have observed some traits that tend to be present in highlysuccessful farm managers. In myexperience these traits apply across all species and sectors of agriculture,not just poultry. The traits listedbelow are held by Farm Managers who are the top 10% of their sector, the bestof the best, TOP GUN!
1. Time in the barn. If I could set up a little experiment where the time a barn worker spentin the barn was graphed against the farm profitability I would bet good moneythat there would be a perfect correlation between the time someone is in thebarn and how well the birds do. Whensomeone is in the barn, they can notice changes in the outside weather thatmight affect how the barn feels. Thereis more time for them to notice something off with the birds. Also just being in the barn gives more opportunityfor number 2 to happen.
2. It’s the little things. The best farm managers notice little thingslike a drinker out of adjustment, a feed pan not filling, a few louvers notclosing or a dripping water line. Whenthey notice these things, they fix them right away. Often, these farm managers will always keepthe necessary tools right in their pockets, so they can fix a problem as theysee it. One of the ways I see this iswhen I’m walking in a barn with one of these folks, they will fix problems aswe are walking. They do not walk by aproblem. Another way this shows up is that thesemanagers listen to their animals. Theynotice little things that are different in their birds. For example, noticing birds are bunching togetherslightly. This might be a sign that thewind has picked up and maybe birds are feeling the draft and the temperatureneeds to be raised to make birds comfortable again. Noticing these little things and fixing thembefore they turn into a problem makes a huge difference in the end.
3. Aggressive culling. Some people find this to be confusing butit’s true. The most successful farmsalways do a great job removing birds that struggle to walk. These birds serve as a source for disease andspeed disease transmission. Even if theyrecover, they typically do not add to overall pounds produced because they endup being removed as condemn. There issome new research showing that aggressive culling can slow or prevent diseasetransmission within a farm. Havingeuthanasia tools at both ends of the barn and in the middle is an excellent wayto make culling easier. This item flowsback into number 1 and 2. The more time someone spends in the barn, the quickerthey will notice these birds and the sooner they will be removed. Our goal needs to be to remove sick orinjured birds BEFORE they die. When abird dies it starts to decompose and all the bacteria in its body starts toleak out. Getting these birds removedbefore they die reduces the number of bacteria that will contaminate the barn environment.
4. Seek feedback. Thebest farm managers are competitive folks. They are always seeking feedback as to how they can do better. They are aggressively trying to learn andstrive to improve. One word of cautionhere though is when seeking feedback and new ideas it is important to get itfrom folks who are also high performers. Don’t take advice from people who are not at the top of their game. These growers don’t take feedback as aninsult, slam or diss, they write it down, think about it and progress. Asking questions is a good way to seekfeedback but it needs to be done in a constructive manner, with the rightintention, the goal should be IMPROVEMENT. Growers in this category might be at 92% but they want to be at 95%,they seek the next step to get them just a little better.
5. Lead by example. These farm managers know that they need to walk the walk not justtalk the talk. They are in the barnsDOING, not just telling others to do the work. They respond to alarm calls, they work weekends, they get dirty witheveryone else. This item is probably ano brainer but maybe it is better at pointing out the opposite. Farms where leadership is the last one toarrive, the first one to leave, never there on a weekend or holiday and neverget dirty often have room for improvement and are middle of the packperformers, at best. One of my formeremployers had a term for this, they called it “I have arrived” syndrome. When someone got to farm manager level, theythought they didn’t need to do the work anymore. This leads to an erosion of morale among allthe folks who do the work. When thesepeople see management not willing to go the extra mile, they stop doing it aswell. We are all in this together andleading by example is the best way to prove that.
In conclusion, although these traits are common among thetop 10% of farms they are not to put down farms that could improve. Read the list and find one or two you couldget better at. Improving on even justone of these items will produce results in either bird performance or your ownmental health or both.
